Was battery fire caused by worker?

Outrage was sparked following an incident on Tuesday 11th January when a resident spotted a Biffa worker dangerously chucking used batteries in with household rubbish.

This follows a lorry bin fire on the same day being blamed on residents improperly disposing of batteries.

The Wilmcote resident, who doesn’t want to be named, had carefully put out used household batteries on top of her recycling.

Refuse collectors are then meant to have disposed of the batteries in a separate storage area on the bin lorry.

However the resident was shocked when she witnessed the worker flout safety rules by putting them in with the other rubbish.

She told the Herald: “We have never placed batteries inside any wheelie bin and have always placed them in a clear bag on top of the bins so they are clearly visible.

“My husband and I were both watching the recycling being collected. We saw him just chuck everything into the truck. He made no attempt to put the batteries in a separate storage area.”

This follows the district council’s call last week – as reported in the Herald – for residents to dispose of their household batteries safely after compacted batteries caused a fire in one of the Biffa trucks as crews carried out their rounds in Wilmcote on that Tuesday.

At the time, after releasing news of the fire, the council urged residents to act safely over disposing batteries, it said: “We do not provide a separate kerbside collection service for household batteries – they can be placed next to or on top of any bin on scheduled collection days in a standard-sized carrier bag.

“There is no need for old batteries to find their ways into household rubbish and recycling.”

The Wilmcote resident said that while they followed the necessary procedure, the same was not being done by the recycling lorry operative, and that the council should ensure its contractors are following protocol before assuming the fault lies with residents.

“They implement rules and don’t stick to them themselves,” she said. “Then as soon as something goes wrong, they blame the public.

“The council and the contractors need to take responsibility and investigate things before they start turning around and reminding the public.”

Cllr Ian Shenton, portfolio-holder for climate change, responded: “We are grateful for residents contacting us about the story on household batteries and electrical items.

“Between Biffa and ourselves we go to great lengths to separate household batteries from general waste and obviously if we are made aware of any issue, such as this, we will act quickly.

“Biffa have conducted their own enquiry and have dealt with the matter, they have also instigated further training for the crews.

“I am grateful for their quick response and would add that the waste collection service is generally acknowledged by residents as being excellent but even the best run service can have issues from time to time.”

A spokesperson for Biffa said: “We identified the member of staff who was seen throwing household batteries in the main hopper of the refuse collection vehicle.

“It is not clear if these specific household batteries were the cause of the fire.

“However, this is clearly a breach of Biffa procedures and an internal investigation into the matter was initiated and concluded. In addition Biffa are refreshing the training of all crews on how to manage the disposal of household batteries.”